Fish bait



March 18, 1952 E. l... FARLEY 2,589,932

FISH BAIT Filed sept. '7, 194:3 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 AmnEl-Q i; Wg I March 18, 1952 IE. L. FARLEY FISH BAIT 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed sept'. 7, 1948 Mrz@ 5 Patented Mar. 18, 1952l 'FISH BAIT Edward L. Farley, Lakeland, Fla. Application September 7, 1948, Serial No. 48,100

1o claims. (o1. r-42.08)

The 'present invention relates to an artificial iish bait, and it provides certain improvements over the iish lures shown in my prior Patents No.

1,731,161, granted October 8, y1929 and No. 1,854,024, granted April 12, 1932,

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved sh bait which is attractive in action to induce sh to strike it.

Another object is to provide improved means for attaching the sh hook to the body of the bait so that the point of the hook will extend rearwardly beyond the body and will be held in an upright position, either upwardly or downwardly, as desired.

Another object is to provide a guard for retaining the fish hook in engagement with its attaching means and for permitting controlled angular movement of the hook relatively to the body of the bait.

Another object is to kprovide improved means for attaching the fish hook to the ybody whereby Adifferent hooks, whether clothed or unclothed,

and of different lengths or sizes, may be attached interchangeably to the lbait body with facility by hand, and without requiring the use of tools.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved decoy and novel means for attaching it to the bait body whereby decoys of `diiierent colors or sizes lmay be readily attached vbait, the decoy being shown in the trailing position which it occupies vwhile the bait is being drawn through the water.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the bait, showing the decoy in trailing position. f yFigure 3 is a side elevation of the lbait, showing the decoy inthe pendant position which it occupies while the bait is relatively motionless in the water.

Figure 4 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the bait, taken on the line 4-4 in Fig. 1 but showing the decoy in pendant position.

. Figure 5 is a section taken centrally and longitudinally through the bait, showing the guard rer-ing of the nsn nook.

yleased and swung into position to permit chang- Figure 6 is a transverse vertical section taken y on the line 6-6 in Fig. 1 .but showing the decoy in pendant position.

Figure '7 is a detail transverse vertical section taken on the line 1-1 in Fig. 1.

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the hook retaining guard detached -from the bait body.

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the bait body with the hook guard and decoy detached therefrom.

Figure 10 is a detail perspective view showing the manner and means of yattachment of the spinners to the decoy.

Figure l1 is a detail view on an enlarged scale of one of the spinner attaching devices.

Similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals in the several gures.

The preferred construction of the sh bait is shown in the drawings and will be hereinafter described in detail, but it is to be understood vthat the invention is not restricted to the precise structure shown, since equivalent structures are contemplated and such Ywill be included within vthe scope of the claims.

As shown in the present instance, the improved fish bait comprises abody I, decoy 2 and Afish hook 3. The body may be composed of any suitable material, it being preferably of the spoon type compos'ed of a metal plate which is concave longitudinally and .transversely on one side and convex on the other side, as shown. The body is provided at its forward end with a hole 4 for attachment of the line 5 to the bait, as by a snaphook 6, and the body is provided at its rear end with a hook 'l for attachment of the fish hook 3 to the bait, the hook l having its shank welded or otherwise lixed to the concave side of the body so that the hook 1 projects rigidly from the concave side of the body vand is adapted .to engage in an eye 8 on the shank of the fish hook 3, the engagement of the hook 'l and eye 8 being such as to permit pivotal movement of the fish hook to a sufficient extent laterally and vertically but substantially preventing twisting of the sh hook vso that the point thereof will be held in an upwardly or downwardly pointed direction, according to the manner in which its eye 8 is attached to the hook 1. The fish hook 'l is shown provided with the usual clothing 9, but it is to be understood that unclothed hooks maybe used and hooks of diiferent lengths or sizes may be attached interchangeably to the bait body by means of the hook I on the body and an eye on the hook. AThe hook 1 is oiset forwardly from the rear edge of the bait body s o that the shank pf the fish hook will-rest on this edge of the body registering holes I6. position of the-member II, the'hook `I5 thereon Vis engaged over the forward "edge of the bait body with its'holes I6 in register with 4the hole 3 and thereby support the sh hook in a substantially horizontally extended position, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The hook I is preferably an open one, as shown,

centrally of its width with a slot I0, and a guard member II is provided which is of a width to extend through said slot so that one -end of this member may lie against the concave sidemof the body and its other end may lie against the convex side of the body at the respeetiveends of the body, and this member is curved to conform substantially with the 'respective portions of the body against which 'they-'lie Thefend of the member II at the concave side of the body :is bent into channel form as shown yin detail in Fig. 7 to provide ahousin'g I2 which'is adapted .to tpverthe eye 8 jof the 'sh -hook and Vits attaching hook Tand therebye'prevent accidental detachmentof said'eyeandfhook, `the edges of this vhousing lextending 'toward or engaging the adjacent side of the body and thus conningthe shank, of the -sh -hookjand limiting the extent .to whichV the fish hook r`may swing angularly about the attaching hook 1.

'lfherguardgmember uI I -is' connected to the bait body to prevent its `detachment therefrom vby a loop i 3 which is Welded or notherwise fixed to the member-II `and receives apin I which is welded -or otherwisexed lto the baitbody at opposite'sides of the-'slot I0, this loop and vLoyopera ting vpin nproviding a Lpivotal connection nbetween the retaining member VHand the bait body andalso providing-for 'a limited Vmovement of themember H VVKrelatively tothe bait position, fas showngin Fig. 4, rthe forward end 'of the member 'H 'is bent over Yto lform "a locking hook tthetwolegsof which are Yprovided with In 'the normal operative Ily in -the-forward` end lof 'the' body, and the "snap hook "6 extends `through these 'holes and thereby 'prevents longitudinal `vmovement of the member I l relativelyto'thebait'body.'but when the 'snap hookfis" detached and removed from these holes, the member IIY may be shifted yforwardly relativelytothe'body, thereby disengaging'the locking hook 'I5 'from'the forward edge of the body,

thus'freei'ng the Vmember II 4ifor swinging movementfrom the Vposition shown in Fig. vi'tothe position ashown in Fig. '5, the attachin'ghook TI 'being'thexruncovered'so thatfa 'shhool engaged thereon' may be removed and another fish'hool;

substituted.

The present invention provides'a decoy of hnpro'ved Vstructure which may -be readily madeF-inexpensively fro1`n sheet material bent '-'into appropriate form. As lshown lin :the present'instance, the decoy comprising-"aiyoke-shapedinember20 having a pair of legs f2I, the width 'of the member v2u 'being such that these legs 'may occupy positions in properly spaced relationgat the Arespective Vsides of 'the bait, and vthe 'rear j portionY of the legs are bentv` outwardly as at 22 to form` guards to which spinners or other suitable decoys are attached. In the present insta-nce, a spinner 23 is attachedto each of these guards by a swivel 24 which is provided with an eye 25 which is engageable with an eye 26 which is welded or otherwise suitably xed to the underside of the respective guard 22, each of these eyes 26 preferably comprisinga1 wire loop having-overlapping ends which'mfay be spread apart to permit insertion or removal of the eye 25 of the respective spinner, thus enabling the spinners to be changed easily by hand without 'requiring the use of tools. The yoke-shaped member 2l)V of the decoy is attached to the underside 'of the member II for free pivotal movevas herein shown and described-themember vII is llocked in vits operative position-by the hook i5 on its forward -end vsecured by the snap `hoo-l: 6 inserted through the hole 4 in the bait body and the holes -I Iiinlthelegs'of, the hook i5. The guard I2 then secures the fish hook 3 `from detachment from the hook I on -the body and also controls the `lateral swing' of the 4fis-h -hook so that 'itA will maintain a rearwardly extended positionrelatively -to lthe body. Relajtiveforward motion of the bait in the water will cause the decoy 2 and the spinners thereon to Vassuirie a rearwardlyl trailing position -afs shown in Figs. land 2 and the `spinners'will befreeto `revolve, the decoy thenpresentingan attractiyeappearance which will induce the viish vtofstrile, Since the fish hook is attached to the bodyata'point adjacent to the trear -endof the body, the -spinners will not become'entangled therewith. t

When it Ais `desired to lchange the iish `hoo-k 'in use foranother hook of a different size or type, it is only necessary'to detach the 'snap --hookt from the locking hook I5 and then slide the member I I forwardly-onthebody until'the tip'of'this hook is clear V'of `the forward edgeof -'thebodi Ywhereuponthe'member I-I 'is 'free'to swing -down- Vthe hole in the'body, -the'partsaielocked,thereby preventing'ac'cidental Ydetachment of `the fish hook. This Vcomplete operation may *be perf formed without requiring the use of -aiiyfitools In order 'to change the decoyas a Whole, it is only necessary toi'detaoh lthe 'yoke-'liliefmeinber 2from the loops `21 andto 'inserti-the' similar member of another decoy in ?these-lo'eps,fand

ners 23 are preferably attachedlt'o ithefsvsivi'el's 24 by loops 30 like the loops 26 so that the spinners maybe readily detached and replaced by other spinners if desired without requiring the use of tools, as has been hereinbefore described respecting the loops 26.

Since the parts 23, 22, 25 and 26 of the decoy are loosely associated, they may spread out laterally from the respective sides of the body, thus contributing to the attractiveness of the bait to induce the iish to strike, and as the spinners are located forwardly of the fish hook 3, they will not foul the hook when they swing inwardly. 'Ihe bait body i may be composed of a material which floats, in which event the decoy including the spinners thereon may swing downwardly into a suspended or pendant position as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, thus providing attraction to induce the iish to strike. The guards or shields 22 prevent the spinners 23 and swivels from being thrown back upon the legs 2l of the yoke 25 or upon the body of the bait itself. The holes 29 in the yoke 20 are preferably slightly larger than the loops 2l so as to allow a slight lateral movement of the decoy relatively to the bait body.

I claim as my invention:

l. A fish bait comprising a body, means fixed to the upper side of the body adjacent to its rear end for Aremovably attaching a sh hook to the rear end of the body, a member having a guard on its rear end and pivotally connected to the body on a horizontal axis to swing relatively thereto to bring the guardv on said member into a position to cooperate with the hook attaching means to retain the hook thereon, the forward end of said member being weighted to swing the guard by gravity into a position to uncover the hook attaching means, and line-attaching means cooperative with the body and the forward end of said member for retaining the guard in said covering position.

2. A fish bait comprising a body concave on its upper side and having a slot therein between its ends, a member having a channel-shaped guard on its rear end, said member extending longitudinally of the body and through said slot and pivotally connected between its ends to the body, a sh hook attaching device fixed to the upper side adjacent to the rear end of the body for positioning a sh hook while resting on the rear edge of the body to extend rearwardly therefrom, the attaching device being in a position to underlie the guard on the rear end of said member while the latter is swung into a position against the body, the guard being engageable by a fish hook on the attaching device to limit lateral swing of the iish hook, and means cooperative with the forward end of said member and with the body to hold said member while swung into said position against the body.

3. A sh bait comprising a body having a slot therein, a member looselypivoted to and movable in the slot longitudinally of the body and having a guard thereon, and a portion engageable and disengageable with respect to the body by movement of said member longitudinally of the body to respectively secure said member from pivotal movement and to release it for pivotal movement relatively to the body, and a iish hook attaching device on the body in a position for cooperation of the guard therewith to retain the hook on said device.

4. A fish bait comprising a body having a slot therein, a member loosely pivoted on the body and movable in the slot longitudinally of the body and having a portion engageable and disengageable withrespect to the body by such longitudinal movement to preventor permit respectively pivotal movement ofvsaid member relatively to the body, a guard on said member, a sh hook attaching device on the body positioned to be uncovered by the guard when said member is swung into an angular position relatively to the body and to be covered by said guard when said member is swung 4into substantial parallelism with the body, and means for holding said member in the latter position.

5. A fish bait comprising a body having a slot therein between its ends, a member extending through said slot and connected to the body between its ends on a transverse horizontal axis to swing pivotally, a sh hook attaching device connected to the upper side of the body adjacentfto its rear end, a guard on the rear end of said member for covering said fish hook attaching device when said member is swung into substantial parallelism with the body to retain a fish hook on said attaching device, decoys connected to said member at the forward side of its pivotal axis and weighting said member to swing the guard by gravity into uncovering position relatively to said attaching device, and means cooperative with the body and the forward end of said member to retain the guard in said covering position.

6. A sh bait comprising a body having a slotI therein between its ends, a member extending through said slot and loosely pivoted between its ends to the body to swing pivotally on a horizontal axis and to move in the slot longitudinally relatively to the body, an open hook on the rear end of the body for attaching a iish hook thereto, a guard on the rear end of said member movable into a position to cover said open hook when said member is swung into substantial parallelism with the body and to uncover said open hook when swung into an angular position relatively to the body, and means on the forward end of said member engageable and disengageable with respect to the body by longitudinal movement of said member relatively to the body to respectively prevent or permit pivotal movement of said member..

'7. A iish bait comprising a body having a slot therein between its ends, a member extending through said slot and looselyp-ivoted between its ends to the body to swing pivotally into angular and parallel positions and to move in the slot longitudinally relatively to the body, a device on the rear end of the body for attaching a fish hook thereto, a guard on the rear end of said member movable into a position to cover said attaching device when said member is swung into parallelism with the body and to uncover said device when said member is swung into an angular position relatively to the body, and a hook on the forward end of said member engageable with and disengageable from an edge of the body by longitudinal movement of said member relatively to the body to respectively lock said member from and release it for pivotal movement relatively to the body.

8. A fish bait comprising a concave-convex body having a slot therein between its ends, a

hook on the rear end of the body for detachably connecting a fish hook thereto, a member curved longitudinally in substantial conformity with the longitudinal curvature of the body and extending through the slot in the body and movable in the slot longitudinally of the body and loosely pivoted between its ends to the body for pivotal and 1ongitudinal movements relatively thereto, a guard 7 ion -lthe rear end lof -said `member 1movable-intofaal retaining position LArelatively yto `'said ho'ok on 'the 'rear fend of the lboilybyf'swinging movement of said member intofsubs'ta'ntialparallelism with-the body-fand 'ahook onlthe'orward Vend offsaidlmem- *ber 'engageable 'with fand disen'gageable from -th`e forw'ard edge 'of the 'body by flongi'tu'dinal'move- "ment '0f said member Trel'atively 5to 'the lb'ody.

"9. Ash bait lcomprijsing a body vhaving -a con- -cav'e 'upper side and 7a cbnvexlow'erfside fand a slot therein between its ends,ahook`on theuppe'r Side A'adjacent to the rear y'end of 'the body 'for yTetacliably connecting fa fish hook 'thereto, a *member extending through fthe Slot in the 'body from its lower Ato vvits flipper side `and mo'vabl'e in "the Vslot longitudinally o'f 1the vbod-y and 'loos'ely /pivot'ed :between it'sfends to 'thelb'ody'forpivotal 'and longitudinal movements 'relatively thereto, a fguardyfon the rear end 'of lsfaid 'member 'movable towardthe upper 'sidedf lthe bod-y into'aretaining ipo'sition'relatively tosa'd hook'by swingingy movevmento'f said member intosubstantialparallelism with the body,fahookf'on the'forward end offsaid member engageable with and disengageable from 'the forward edge of 'the body lby longitudinal movement of said -mernberlrelatively to the body for locking the guard in'retaining position -rela- `tively to the hookonthe rearend of the body, and means connecting said hook on said member andthe body `for locking'said member-from'longi- -tudinal movement relatively to the body.

10. Ashbait-oomprs'ing a body'having a Slot therein-between its'ends, ahook on-the rear end of :the body for 'connecting a vfish hook :thereto Vdetaehably and for v*lateral swinging movements,

K'a"xriexnbe'rextending through-the slot in the body andlmovable in the-slot longitudinalllyo'fthebody and loosely pivoted Abetwe'enlits f'ends to -the body for pivotal and longitudinalmovementsfrelativly thereto, a vlongitudinally flanged guard on the rear end of said member movable fintofaposition above'and at opposite sides of--sad-hook byswinging movement of said member ifrorh angularito vpar-"allel relation 'with "the body to iretain 5a 'flsh hook fon said connecting vhook and for engage- /ment by its anges 'with the fish hook to limit lits lateral swinging movements, `a hook -onithe forward end Vof said memberlengageable vwither disengageable vfrom the forward edge of the body by longitudinal movement of said member relatively to the body, and a line-attaching 'de'vice extending through the hook on "said member fand the body for locking saidimember 'fromilorrgi-tufdin'al movement relatively'to 'the b'o'dy. K

EDWARD "L. A1'1IARISEY.

REFERENCES vCITED The following references :are ofrecordin the le vof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

